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Non-profit

Passport Foundation

Location:

WILMINGTON, DE
Tax ID:

26-1580196
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2015):

Revenue: $983,782
Expenses: $2,071,039
Assets: $29,597,925
Type:

Private Grantmaking Foundation
Founders:

John H. Burbank III

Alison Carlson

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The Passport Foundation is a left-of-center San Francisco, California-based grantmaking institution, founded by financier John H. Burbank III and his wife, Alison Carlson. 1 The Passport Foundation funds causes including environmentalism and left-leaning economic and social policy. 2

Burbank’s investment firm, Passport Capital, managed as much as $5 billion in assets before substantial losses caused the firm to close its flagship fund. 3 Burbank later expanded Passport Capital into “cryptocurrency” trading. 4

Leadership

The co-founder of Passport Foundation is Alison Carlson. Carlson is married to Burbank and the president of the Forsythia Foundation, an environmental funder. Carlson’s background includes graduating from Stanford University, working for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 5

John Burbank’s interests include supporting organizations like Ralph Nader’s left-wing advocacy group Public Citizen. 6 Burbank’s estimated net worth as of February 2017 was at least $119 million dollars. 7

Grantees

The Passport Foundation grants monies to many institutions that advance a left-of-center agenda. Many organizations have received large grants including an environmentalist legal group Earthjustice, environmentalist advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council , and the environmentalist voter activation network League of Conservation Voters. 8 Passport Foundation also contributed to the left-of-center technology group Code for America. 9

Passport Foundation has made substantial contributions to co-founder Alison Carlson’s own organization, the Forsythia Foundation. Passport Foundation granted $22,000,000 to Forsythia in two allocations in 2011 and 2015. 10 Forsythia promotes so-called “green chemistry,” opposing the use of common products purported to cause negative health effects. 11

Both Forsythia and Passport are members of the Health and Environmental Funders Network (HEFN). 12 HEFN is a network of grant makers that focus on health impacted by the pollutants in the environment and environmental justice. 13

References

  1. Adeniji, Ade. “Safer Made: Why This Philanthropist Is Laser-Focused on Environmental Health.” Inside Philanthropy. July 18, 2017. Accessed April 20, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/6/27/safer-made-why-a-philanthropist-champions-environmental-health.
  2. “John H. Burbank III.” Inside Philanthropy. November 20, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/wall-street-donors/john-h-burbank-iii.
  3. Copeland, Rob. “Passport Capital to Shut Flagship Hedge Fund After Losses, Redemptions.” The Wall Street Journal. December 12, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/passport-capital-to-shut-flagship-hedge-fund-after-losses-redemptions-1513044464?mod=article_inline.
  4. Rudegeair, Peter. “John Burbank’s Passport Hedge Fund Hopes for New Savior in Bitcoin.” The Wall Street Journal. December 12, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-burbanks-struggling-passport-hedge-fund-hopes-for-new-savior-in-bitcoin-1513088044.
  5. “Alison Carlson.” Forsythia. Accessed April 20, 2019. http://www.forsythiafdn.org/alison-carlson/.
  6. Petropoulos, Connie. “John H. Burbank III.” Inside Philanthropy. November 20, 2018. Accessed April 20, 2019. http://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/place-gop-mull-life-trump.
  7. “John Howard Iii Burbank Net Worth (2019) – Wallmine.com.” Wallmine. Accessed April 20, 2019. https://wallmine.com/people/41047/john-howard-iii-burbank.
  8. PASSPORT FOUNDATION 2016 261580196.PDF. November 6, 2017. IRS Tax Form 990
  9. PASSPORT FOUNDATION 2016 261580196.PDF. November 6, 2017. IRS Tax Form 990
  10. PASSPORT FOUNDATION 2016 261580196.PDF. November 6, 2017. IRS Tax Form 990
  11. Adeniji, Ade. “Safer Made: Why This Philanthropist Is Laser-Focused on Environmental Health.” Inside Philanthropy. July 18, 2017. Accessed April 24, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/6/27/safer-made-why-a-philanthropist-champions-environmental-health.
  12. Adeniji, Ade. “Safer Made: Why This Philanthropist Is Laser-Focused on Environmental Health.” Inside Philanthropy. July 18, 2017. Accessed April 20, 2019. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2017/6/27/safer-made-why-a-philanthropist-champions-environmental-health.
  13. “Foundations That Work on Environmental Health.” Health & Environmental Funders Network |. Accessed April 20, 2019. https://hefn.org/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: February 1, 2008

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2015 Dec Form PF $983,782 $2,071,039 $29,597,925 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $3,908,743 $3,621,037 $56,033,848 $196,677 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $6,819,219 $1,616,168 $25,829,815 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $1,084,477 $2,214,924 $20,526,594 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $13,426,291 $12,629,045 $21,651,829 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Passport Foundation

    501 SILVERSIDE RD
    WILMINGTON, DE 19809-1374